Q. How much trust do you have in the following media commentators and journalists?

5 September 2011

This week

Total a lot/ some trust

Total not much/ no trust

Total a lot/ some trust

Total not much/ no trust

Total know them

A lot of trust

Some trust

Not much trust

No trust

Not sure

Laurie Oakes

75%

17%

72%

19%

84%

29%

43%

11%

8%

9%

George Negus

75%

16%

69%

21%

88%

20%

49%

14%

7%

10%

Tony Jones

54%

29%

53%

29%

55%

16%

37%

17%

12%

18%

Michelle Grattan

47%

34%

48%

28%

42%

15%

33%

17%

11%

24%

Neil Mitchell

42%

40%

46%

34%

47%

11%

35%

19%

15%

20%

Andrew Bolt

43%

42%

39%

46%

61%

12%

26%

16%

29%

16%

Jon Faine

38%

40%

38%

35%

36%

11%

26%

22%

13%

27%

Alan Jones

38%

49%

22%

67%

89%

8%

15%

15%

53%

10%

Respondents have the most trust in Laurie Oakes (72%) and George Negus (69%), with a high proportion of respondents aware of who they are.

Respondents have the least trust in Alan Jones (22%), with 53% of those that know him stating that they have no trust in him and 15% stating they do not have much trust in him (total 67% no trust).

Comparing the results to when the last time the question was polled a year ago on 5 September 2011, trust has fallen in George Negus (from 65% to 69%), Andrew Bolt (from 43% to 39%) and Alan Jones (from 38% to 22%).

In respect of Alan Jones, total not much/no trust rose considerably from 49% in September 2011 to 67% this week.

Looking at the results by voting intention, Coalition voters are the most likely to have trust in Alan Jones (36% total a lot/ some trust) whilst both Labor voters and Greens voters are the most likely to not trust him (each 79% total not much/ no trust).

Q. How much trust do you have in what you read in the following newspapers?

Total a lot/some

25 Jul 11

Total a lot/some

A lot of trust

Some trust

Not much trust

No trust at all

Don’t know

The Australian

69%

60%

15%

45%

23%

12%

6%

The Telegraph (NSW only)

52%

49%

10%

39%

30%

19%

3%

Sydney Morning Herald (NSW only)

74%

69%

19%

50%

22%

6%

4%

The Age (Victoria only)

79%

76%

20%

56%

18%

5%

1%

Herald Sun (Victoria only)

54%

51%

8%

43%

32%

15%

1%

Courier Mail (Queensland only)

65%

51%

6%

45%

28%

13%

7%

* Note : Percentages based only on respondents who had read each newspaper.

Among those who have read the newspaper, 20% have a lot of trust in The Age and 19% have a lot of trust in the SMH. 15% of readers of The Australian have a lot of trust in the newspaper but only 10% have a lot of trust in The Telegraph and 8% in The Herald Sun. 49% have not much or no trust in The Telegraph and 47% have not much or no trust in The Herald Sun.

Overall, the most trusted newspapers were The Age (76% a lot/some trust) and the SMH (69%). The least trusted were The Telegraph (49% a lot/some trust), the HeraldSun (51%) and the Courier Mail (51%).

Since this question was asked last year, there have been significant declines in trust in the Courier Mail (down 14%) and The Australian (down 9%).

Liberal/National voters (70%) were more likely than Labor voters (48%) to have a lot or some trust in The Australian.